A slightly more considered opinion on the Busbi Video Plus vs. Flip Ultra cameras, based on still-cursory but mildly more in-depth testing
Neither.
2 Comments
Is there any other camcorder out there like the Flip? I’ve had too many issues with my Flip’s but I like their size.
My pick of this sort of camera, as of January 2010, is Kodak’s Zi8.
Bad points include over-sharpened/saturated video; an anti-shake feature that leads to odd aliasing/CMOS skew tremble; 30/60fps operation means strobing picture under fluorescent light in the UK; ‘zoom’ feature entirely worthless; big SDHC cards add a chunk to the price.
Good points include low-light performance (not great, but better than I’ve seen from other such cameras); manual macro lever that actually works; good screen; slightly wider-angle lens than Flip Mino HD; microphone input jack.
The mic jack is the killer feature, I think. It’s possible to plug radio mics or even a shotgun in the Flip, which makes a huge difference. The big flaw is that there’s no headphone jack, so you can’t monitor the sound… but I’ll take half a solution over none.
I use my Zi8 all the time, it’s a great piece of kit.
Is there any other camcorder out there like the Flip? I’ve had too many issues with my Flip’s but I like their size.
My pick of this sort of camera, as of January 2010, is Kodak’s Zi8.
Bad points include over-sharpened/saturated video; an anti-shake feature that leads to odd aliasing/CMOS skew tremble; 30/60fps operation means strobing picture under fluorescent light in the UK; ‘zoom’ feature entirely worthless; big SDHC cards add a chunk to the price.
Good points include low-light performance (not great, but better than I’ve seen from other such cameras); manual macro lever that actually works; good screen; slightly wider-angle lens than Flip Mino HD; microphone input jack.
The mic jack is the killer feature, I think. It’s possible to plug radio mics or even a shotgun in the Flip, which makes a huge difference. The big flaw is that there’s no headphone jack, so you can’t monitor the sound… but I’ll take half a solution over none.
I use my Zi8 all the time, it’s a great piece of kit.